7 Essential Tips For Festival Fun with Kids
Making a festival the destination for a family holiday is becoming increasingly popular. To meet the demand there are now hundreds of family friendly events held in all four corners of the country and each one is packed full of fun activities for you and your family to enjoy. There are potential pitfalls though and if you have never done it before we recommend some you take some simple steps to prepare you and your family for the wild realities of festival madness.
- Pick the festival right for your family
Each festival is unique; take the time to research which one would suit you and your family best. Together, sit down and decide what you want, consider how far you are willing to travel, your finances, what facilities you expect, the activities want to do and the musical line up you want.
- Safety First
Safety should be discussed with your children before you even get there, on arrival and throughout. Make sure everyone know what to do if they get lost, there will be a tent designated for lost children so make it one of your first stops after you set up camp.
Children’s festival wristbands have space for you to write your phone number on but the paper based ones they provide are not always fit for purpose with kids and can get easily damaged or broken. You can buy wristbands in preparation that are hardier and will stand the test of festival life and kids usually find them more comfortable too.
When considering safety you also want to think about your little ones little ears. Ear defenders are an absolute must on your festival shopping list and enable you to enjoy the music without worrying about the sensitive hearing of your child getting damaged.
- Be the early bird
It is pretty hard to avoid the queues into the festival grounds and the bigger the event the longer you probably have to wait to get in. Some festivals will actually open a day or so early and if you are prepared for a longer stay then you have a chance of avoiding the hours of waiting in the car with screaming impatient kids.
- Be ready to camp
A festival holiday is a camping holiday and how prepared you are for this could make or break your experience; prioritise spending on good camping mats and sleeping bags, uncomfortable and cold kids are not a cool festival accessory. A tent with some sort of porch space will useful for dirty wellies and make sure you practice putting up the tent before you actually get there.
Camping equipment also includes everything you need to sustain life over the weekend; unless you plan on eating out every time the kids are hungry, you want to be able to pull together a luxury meal of beans on toast at a moment’s notice.
Additionally don’t forget torches, lights, cool boxes, reusable water bottles, and clothes and shoes for all weathers (to name just a few).
- The Johns
The notorious state of festival toilets is what puts so many people off the whole idea in the first place. To be fair, no matter how well prepared a particular festival is, by the end of the weekend they are usually pretty stinky. Some festivals do have special children’s toilets which are a great help to parents but it is still recommended to take plenty of toilet roll, antibacterial gel and a potty. You can actually buy special camping loos that are great for kids and have hygienic storage.
- Getting around
If you have children who are in a pram or are likely to want to rest at some point while you are out partying, you want to make sure you have something festival worthy to get you through the rough ground and potential mud. Look for anything with big and thin wheels, ideally a 3 wheeler. Some parents even opt for wheelbarrows or trollies and if you have a tiny baby then definitely consider a sling or baby carrier.
- Find the kids area
Like it or not, the kids area is where you will spend most of your time so you might as well get accustomed to it on day one. These fields will probably provide more activities for your children than your average holiday and they will be spoilt for choice when deciding what to do at any given moment. Typical activities include play area, entertainment shows, circus skills training, bread making, weaving, drumming, dancing, weird science, nature exploration, classic games, talent shows and face painting.
The entertainment provided for children will differ at each event because each kid’s area is as unique as the festival itself, but one thing is for sure; taking children to a festival is an adventure for the whole family and with the right preparation will be remembered for all the right reasons.
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